An Ontario man whose dump truck “concerned” police has been hit with $1,000 in fines from an “officer Grinch,” who ticketed him moments after he dropped off more than 1,000 pounds of food donations.

Mark Hoffman says two officers were watching him while he collected food donations during the Santa Claus parade in New Hamburg, Ont., and that the same officers were waiting for him outside the food bank after he dropped off the donations. Hoffman was issued six tickets totalling approximately $1,000 in fines for various issues including failure to surrender an insurance card, failure to surrender an inspection schedule and improper means of attachment.

“I referred to him as Officer Grinch. I truly can’t understand his mindset,” Hoffman told CTV Kitchener on Tuesday. He says he’s been collecting food donations during the parade for 15 years, and this is the first time he’s ever been ticketed after the parade.

Insp. Mike Haffner, of the Waterloo Regional Police Service, defended the officers’ decision to ticket Hoffman. “Our officers were concerned about the condition of the vehicle,” he told CTV Kitchener.

The Waterloo Regional Police Service says it’s inspected approximately 1,800 large commercial vehicles since April, and that 40 per cent of those inspections lead to vehicles being taken off the road for safety reasons.

“We would hate to be on the other side of this conversation, that this vehicle was deemed unsafe and caused a collision that ended in the death of an individual,” Haffner said.

Despite the fines, Hoffman says he will continue to help the downtrodden by collecting donations again next year.

“It’s good to reach out and help those people,” he said.

He added that he has only one Christmas wish for the Santa Claus parade in 2018: “That every officer that goes out to a parade has to have a cup of cheer before he leaves.”

With files from CTV Kitchener reporter Tina Yazdani

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Mark Hoffman, of New Hamburg, Ont., was ticketed after delivering food donations.